Absolute
by SerenityFrogLuvr3
Summary: This was the meaning of 'absolute'. Ed was absolutely dead, and nothing was going to change that. He wasn't coming back this time. Edward's final battle, and his death, from both his and Al's POV. Oneshot, character death.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Come on, seriously guys.**

Holy shit, guys, this is my first non-Rent FF _ever!!!_ I'm very excited, and I hope you all like it. Oh, and to Lizzie, Sting Rea and Latacia (dude, you know I can't spell that.), if you guys read this; Yes, it's FMA, but that's the _only _anime I like! I swear to God, no lie. I stick with my theory that all other anime sucks! (No offense to anyone else who likes it. This is just my opinion.)

Sorry about any mistakes, my computer doesn't have a spell check. I reread it, like, a zillion times though, so I think it will be basically okay. Oh, and any critiques you have on my writing style would be totally welcomed.

**!Important!- This just something that came to me. I know that the story kind of just begins in the middle, but bear with me. Ok, so the details are sketchy, but that's because I don't think that's the important part. Here's a little history of how our characters got where they are. Basically, Ed and Al were fighting this alchemist (Why? Who knows? I'm sure they had a good reason. Use your imagination.). Anyway, so the alchemist, Mars, knocked Al out and then was fighting just Ed. And somehow Ed got too close and Mars pulled a knife out of his sleeve and stabbed him in the stomach. It takes place in an unknown time and location, although I was sort of thinking sometime after the movie, once they somehow find a way back to their world. Hey, just go with me people. It's a fan fiction, I can do whatever the hell I want. Oh, and if you can't guess, Al **_**does**_** have his body back.**

One more thing. This is majorly sad. While I was writing this, I was listening to My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, and I was seriously about to cry. But I gotta say, listening to sad music certainly will... enhance the story.

* * *

"Just give up, Full Metal. You're dying." 

The young man ignored the poisionous voice, raising his auto mail blade to meet an attack that never came. His opponent, an alchemist named Mars, stayed where he was, watching Ed's struggle with a smirk twisting his face.

Seeing that the dark haired man wasn't going to come after him, Ed turned his attention to the body that lay on the other side of the room. Al had been thrown against the far wall and now was sprawled on the ground, unconcious but alive. Gingerly he pushed himself away from the wall and began stumbling over. He had one hand clamped firmly over the fatal wound, and could feel warm blood spilling over his fingers and onto the floor. He could hear people laughing, but that wasn't right. There was only Mars in the room with him and Al.

"My God, you're thicker than I thought! It's over Full Metal," the older man chuckled, "You can just give up now! You know you want to. Just lay down and die already."

Ed was trying so despretely to ignore that dangerous voice, only because it spoke the truth. The small alchemist did indeed know that he was dying. He could feel his head going fuzzy, and the place where Mars had stabbed him with a concealed knife was burning in an unbearably distant way.

But still he fought his way across the room. The twenty or so feet seemed like an eternity, and halfway there he had to brace his hands on his knees as the muscles in his chest and stomach began to spasm. Dread settled heavy in his gut as he began to cough, spitting blood onto the dirty stone beneath him. He was ready to quit then, to close his eyes and give in to the darkness that was licking hungrily at the corners of his mind, but a moan from the fallen boy across the room roused him.

"Al." He gritted his teeth and straightening despite the pain in his middle. Mars laughed again, but Ed continued on. Finally, _finally,_ he reached his brother and dropped gracelessly to his knees.

"Al?" he choked, blood in his throat threatening to cut off his airway altogether. He bent down and coughed, spitting the red liquid onto the floor before once again attempting to revive his brother.

This time when Ed shook him, whispering his name, the boy moaned and turned his face away.

"Al, please wake up. I don't have much time, you have to get up. Please!" Ed pleaded. With another sound of protest, the brunette's eyes slowly flickered open.

"Brother?" he asked shakily, looking around. Ed smiled and let out a pent up breath.

"Yes, Al, it's me. Get up now, you have to."

Al pushed himself up on his elbows and frowned, tentativly reaching out a hand to Ed's face, "Brother, you're bleeding." he said. Ed raised his sleeve and wiped off his bloody mouth with a grim smile.

"Forget that. Just do one thing for me. Kill that bastard, okay."

"Brother, what do you mean?" Al asked in confusion. His startling silver eyes traveled from his face, and he gasped as his gaze alighted on where Ed had his hand clamped to his side. Looking down, the blonde saw blood spurting from between his fingers.

"Brother!" Al cried, "You're hurt!"

Ed waved his helping hand away and sat back, feeling the tiny reserves of his strength leaving him. God, he just wanted to give up, to lay back and sleep, but he couldn't do that to Al. The room suddenly began to spin dizzily and he clenched his eyes shut to fight off nausea.

"Brother, hold on," he could hear Al saying. The boy's voice was choked with tears, and Ed longed to assure him that he was fine. But he couldn't seem to get his body to cooperate.

"Al," he managed to spit out before begining to gag on clotted blood. From far away he could hear Al cry out as the crimsom spilled from his lips. His lungs began to burn, demanding oxygen that he just simply could not provide, and he groaned.

"Damn," he he tried to say, but his mouth was no longer his to control. He couldn't hear anything but a roaring sound in his ears, and he wasn't even sure if he was still sitting up. Feeling one final gout of blood rising, he opened his mouth and began to cough weakly.

His lungs had stopped burning as he took a breathe. In, out. Inhale, exhale. His chest rose excruciatingly, and he let the air escape him in a whoosh.

Again. In, out. Inhale, exhale. It hurt so damn bad, just to breath.

In, out.

Inhale, exhale.

In...

...out

In...

...out

In...

...out...

* * *

Al stared at Ed in horror. The older boy lay in his arms, head propped up against his chest. His mouth suddenly opened and he thought he could hear him whispering something, but whatever it was was cut off abruptly as blood spewed from his mouth. It soaked into Al's shirt, leaving behind a dark, sticky stain, but he didn't care. Water pricked the edge of his vision, and he brought a hand to his sibling's face. 

"Ed?" Carefully he jostled Ed's cheek, praying for some kind of response. His head simply rolled limply, and Al felt more tears begin to fall, "Edward! Wake up!," he yelled, shaking him. There was no response, and a lump rose in his throat.

"Brother," he pleaded quietly, bowing his head. He could hear air whistling through Ed's nose as he laboriously breathed in, then out. For just a moment Al took comfort in the sound, but then the rise and fall of Ed's chest gradually began to slow. Knowing what was coming but unwilling to believe, it was at that moment that Al understood what it was to be completely powerless. He'd felt it only once before, as he and his brother had sat by their mother's bedside and watched her waste away, but this was something else entirely. Ed wasn't sick, Ed shouldn't die. He couldn't.

A muffled sob rose in his throat, but he forced it down. Instead he listened intently to his brother's shallow breathing, clinging to this last shred of life. Unconciously Al began to breathe at the same pace, inhaling and exhaling as Edward did. As the pale boy's breathing began to slow, so did his own.

Suddenly his brother's mouth opened and more blood spilled out. The pattern of breaths faltered for a moment, but then resumed.

In...

_Ed couldn't die. He just couldn't._

...Out.

_He was the great Full Metal Alchemist, youngest State Alchemist in history._

In...

_He had stood strong in the face of impossible odds and always come out on top._

...Out

_He wouldn't just abandon Al. This had to be a mistake. _

In...

_Any moment now, Ed would open his eyes and smile that lopsided grin of his, demanding to know why Al was crying like a little girl._

...Out

But his eyes didn't open, there was no smile or joke, and that's when the horrible truth struck. This was Ed, and if he hadn't woken up by now, he never would. His brother would never do this to him. He wouldn't let this sick prank go on, he wouldn't let Al suffer like this. If he was going to wake up, he would have done so by now. That could only mean... that he couldn't. He wasn't going to wake up, he couldn't. Never again.

All at once, Al began to cough as his lungs screamed for air. How long he'd been holding his breath, waiting for his brother to inhale once more, he didn't know, but he knew that he, at least, needed the oxygen.

After he'd returned his respiration to a normal rate, he leaned farther over the limp figure in his arms. In one final act of desperation, Al began to gently nudge his shoulder.

"Please wake up." Al gazed down at Ed, tears rolling down his cheeks. The blonde's face was so still. Al bit his lip, feeling it start to tremble.

"Brother," he whispered, voice breaking as his face crumbled. He clutched at Ed's jacket and pulled him close, burying his face in the still warm shoulder. There Al broke down completely, cradling his older sibling's body to his chest. His eyes burned and his throat felt raw, but still sobs racked his body.He began to rock, pressing his body hard against Edward's.

_This is it,_ Al thought numbly. This was the meaning of 'absolute'. Ed was absolutely dead, and nothing was going to change that. He wasn't coming back this time.

Al didn't know how long he sat there in that room and wept, but when he finally raised his ravaged face it was to find that at some time Mars had left. The bitter hollowness left behind by Al's soul-wrenching sobs was gradually replaced with a hot anger. He was going to find that son-of-a-bitch, he was going to place a bullet between his eyes, and he was going to enjoy it.

Al gently laid his brother's body out on the floor, not even realizing that there were still tears flowing freely from his eyes. He had a mission now, and he would allow himself to mourn some more only when it was completed.

He felt that he should say something before he just left, but could think of nothing. So after another moment of heartbroken contemplation of his brother's lifeless body, Al simply turned and left. The only thing he offered before leaving was a silent promise, whispered and echoeing through his head.

_"This isn't the end, Brother. Not by a long shot. I'll keep going, I promise."_

* * *

Hearing his little brother's unspoken words, Edward looked back and smiled.

"That's the spirit, Al" he whispered before turning to face the elaborate Gates that rose up before him. Once terrifing and forbodding, they now offered him only peace.

Abruptly the doors swung open, making him jump slightly. This time, though, there were no menacing eyes or shadowy arms pulling at him. There was only light, warm and inviting, and suddenly Ed realized just how tired he was. Beyond the Gate was peace, the final act of equivilent trade offered to him by the Universe. And so, for the last time in his long and difficult life, Edward Elric passed through the Gates.

At about the same time, Al was passing through his own set of doors. Just about to leave the room where his brother's body lay, something made him pause and turn around.

A strange but altogether pleasent sensation ran up his spine, making him shiver before shaking his head and continuing onward. But for just a moment, he could have sworn that he'd heard Ed's voice, whispering his name.

* * *

A/N- Ok, I took a couple of plot pieces from other places. See if you can name them! If you can't, that's okay, but I'll give you some hints. 

1.) The part where he breathes with his brother, then Ed stops breathing, is from a book by one of my favorite authors! She writes a ton of fantasy books.

2.) Also, the part where he's saying that any moment Ed's gonna wake up, but then realizes that he isn't. That's a weird one. If any of you can tell me where the hell I got that one, that would be great! Like, I know I read it somewhere, I just can't for the life of me remember where.

3.) And finally, the part where he talks about 'this was the meaning of absolute. Ed was absolutely dead.'. I thought that was just so poignent, I had to put it in. That one actually has something to do with Rent (surprise surprise.)

So, yeah, there it is. If you really do have a burning desire to know where I got those plot pieces, let me know and I will tell you (except for the second one, as explained above.)

Peace out.


	2. Author's Note

Hello! Okay, so this isn't part of the story, but I had to put this in. I'm very proud of myself (and a bit annoyed) because this morning I remembered where I got that one plot part. I was half asleep, and maybe my mind was a little more open, but it just came to me like that! And yesterday, I was going out of my mind trying to remember. Typical.

Anyway, so it's from Harry Potter! The fifth book, Order of the Phoenix (Movie coming out July 13! YAY). It's the part where Sirius dies, and Harry is calling for him. He's thinking any moment Sirius is going to come back through that door. But then, when hne doesn't come back, Harry realizes that by now, if Sirius was able, he would have reappeared. After hearing Harry's cries, he would never make him feel like that if he could help it.

Since I've told that one, I should really tell where I got the other two. The first one, as I told **High Elf**, is from Briar's Book, by Tamora Pierce. It's a very good book, you should all read it. It's the third in her Circle of Magic series.

And the other one, the whole 'absolute' part, that's from a documentary on the Rent DVD. They're actually talking about Jonathon Larson, the writer of the musical RENT, who died on opening night. I just love that quote, thoguh, and it makes me want to cry.  
Thanks so far to my two reviewers, **marley** and **High Elf**, for the lovely reviews. They make me smile so much! And to anyone who reviews after I post this, thank you also!


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